Recoilless gun



Dec. 21, 1948.

| v. s. BLACKER REcoILLEss GUN 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 19, 1944LATHIM VALENTIAIE STEWART BLIMKER I 8) Quiz 'r" 14 TTUR/VF S Dec. 21,1948. L. v. s. B'LACKER BECOILLESS 'GUN Filed Sept. 19,' 1944 5Sheets-Sheet 2 J na LATHAM VALENTINE sTewmisL z INVENTOA 5 Sheets-Sheet5 L. V. S. BLACKER RECOILLESS GUN Dec. 21, 1948.

Filed Sept. 19, 1944 14 TTOR/VEL Q A LATHAM VALENTINE STEWART BLACKEQDec. 21, 1948. v. s. BLACKER RECOILLESS GUN 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept.19, 1944 Patented Dec. 21, 1948 RECOILLESS GUN Latham Valentine StewartBlacker, Fittleworth, Pulborough, England Application September 19,1944, Serial No. 554,820

In Great Britain May 4, 1938 11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to recoilless guns.

An important object of my invention is to provide a gun in which therecoil forces generated upon the discharge of a propellant cartridge arelargely absorbed and are utilized for recockin the gun.

Another object of my invention is to provide means for accuratelylocating a projectile in position in a gun so that a moving striker canenter a narrow tube in the tail of the projectile and discharge apropellant charge at the end of the tube.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved form oftrigger andautomatic cocking mechanism.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide an improved gun with amagazine for projectiles and with means by which the feed to themagazine and the recocking are wholly automatic.

Further objects of my invention will appear in the course of thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the annexeddrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through one form of gun withthe parts in the cocked position;

Figure 2 is a plan of the Figure 1 gun;

Figure 3 is a section similar to Figure 1 at the moment of discharge ofthe cartridge;

Figure 3a is a longitudinal sectional view of a projectile with afragmentary showing of the striker;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through a modified form of triggermechanism suitable for use in a gun of the kind shown in Figures 1 to 3;

Figure 5 is a central longitudinal section through a larger gun mountedin a tank;

Figure 6 is a section through the trigger mechanism of the gun shown inFigure 5;

Figure 7 is a side view of a magazine gun;

Figure 8 is a longitudinal horizontal section through the gun shown inFigure '7, with the parts in the cooked position;

Figure 9 is a section similar to Figure 8 at the moment of discharge ofthe propellant cartridge; and

\ Figure 10 is a section on the line X-X in Figure 7.

The gun shown in Figures 1 to 3 compr ises a cylindrical casing l whichcarries at its forward end a cap 2 around which a ring 3 is fixed. Thegun is designed to project a projectile l, and an open-topped loadingtrough 5 for the projectile 4 hasa cylindrical rearward end 6 which fitsover vided at the inner end of the tail tube 1.

the ring 3. The projectile has a tube 1 located partly inside and partlyoutside its tail end and carrying a drum tail 8, and a cartridge 9 ispro- In order to project the projectile it is necessary to dischargethis cartridge 9 and for this purpose a movable striker I0 is arrangedto fly forward into and through the tail tube 1. The nose of the strikerforms a firing pin which, on reaching the cartridge, enters the primer9b of the cartridge 9, striker I0 thereby serving as a firing pin"carrier. The forward portion of the projectile 4 will include a grenadeor the like 4a.

The striker Ill forms part of a heavy dynamic mass, the momentum ofwhich is utilized to absorb a substantial part of the recoil forcesgenerated on discharge of the propellant cartridge 9. This dynamic masslargely consists of a heavy sleeve II the bore of which is reduced indiameter and internally screw-threaded to receive the threaded end l2 ofthe striker In, which has a flange l3 which abuts against the shoulderformed by the reduced part of the bore in sleeve II. A pistonlike heador disc l4 constituting a cocking shoulder is screwed on to the sleeve lI. Head I4 also forms part of the above-mentioned dynamic mass. Thesleeve H can slide within a cocking tube 16 which is welded to a backplate or butt H. An outer cup 18 is also welded to the back plate andsurrounds .an inner cup l9 which is welded to the casing l. A spring 2i!surrounds the cocking tube l6, bearing at one end on the inner cup l9and at the other end on the pistonlike head l4, and being surrounded bya skirt i5 which extends rearwardly from the disc l4 and guides andsteadies-the spring in operation.

In the cocked position shown in Figure 1 the dynamic mass includingstriker I0, sleeve H and skirted disc I4 is held against the action ofthe spring 20 by a control mechanism comprising a scar 2| which engagesthe forward edge of the disc I! and is pivotally mounted on a pin 28which is fixed in a housing 23. This sear is urged into the latchingposition by a compression spring 22 also mounted within housing 23. Thetrigger 24 is pivotally mounted on a pin 25 extending across the housing23, and the finger piece of the trigger projects through an opening I23in the housing 23. The trigger is connected by a pivot pin I24 to adisconnector 26, the forward end of which bears on a nose 21 formed onthe sear 2|. When the trigger 24 is pressed the disconnector 26 rocksthe sear 2| so that the dynamic mass is released and driven rapidlyforward by the spring 20 into the position shown in Figure 3. The

striker ||I traveling up the tail tube I of the projectile to dischargethe cartridge 9 so that the projectile is projected. On the discharge ofthe cartridge 9 its rear portion 9a is driven backwards into the tailtube 1 and seals the explosion gases. It is important that on dischargethe rear part of the cartridge should expand radially and completelyobturate the tail tube. This part 9a of the cartridge acts as a pistonwhich bears directly on the striker l0, driving the dynamic massbackwards. In this manner, not only are the recoil forces absorbed butthey are directly and consistently applied to the dynamic mass to bringabout automatic recocking.

For recocking purposes it is essential that the sear 2| should beallowed to return to the cocking position freely and immediately. Asthis might be prevented if the nose of the disconnector 26 could remainin engagement with the nose 2'! of the sear, a fixed pin 29 is providedto cooperate with a sloping surface on the disconnector so that as thetrigger 24 is pressed completely backwards the disconnector afterrocking the sear is forced downwards away from the nose 21. If thetrigger 24 remains pressed during the whole of the recoil of the dynamicmass the sear 2| will act independently of the trigger and disconnectorand latch the disc I4 in the cocked position shown in Figure 1 when thedynamic mass recoils under the action of the recoil forces. If thetrigger be released before the dynamic mass returns, the disconnector 26will be moved outwards by the engagement of the rearward edge of thedisc l4 with a forked nose 30, the two arms of which are rigid with thedisconnector and lie one on each side of the sear 2|. Immediately disc Hhas passed over this nose the disconnector and trigger will be returnedto the ready-to-fire position by means of a spring 3| anchored at oneend to the disconnector and at the other end to the casing I. In theabsence of the forked nose 30 the user of the weapon, by releasing thetrigger during the movement of the dynamic mass, might cause the nose ofthe disconnector to re-engage with the sear 2| prematurely.

A hand grip 32 and a trigger guard 83 of the usual kind are provided, asalso are a foresight 34 on the loading trough and a backsight 35 on thecasing I.

It is of course necessary to be able to cook the gun initially eventhough it is self-cocking whenever it is fired. For this purpose theassembly formed by the back plate l1. outer cup l8 and cocking tubeelement It is made disconnectible, the outer cup l8 being formed withtwo bayonet slots 36 entered by studs 31 carried by the inner cup I9.When the gun is to be cocked initially the back plate assembly is turnedthrough 90 so that it is unlocked as a whole and can slide rearwardlyrelatively to the studs 31. The back plate assembly is then pulled back,and this results in an inner flange 38 at the end of the cocking tubecoming into contact with a flange 39 at the end of the sleeve so thatthe latter is pulled backwards against the spring 20 until the head l4engages the sear 2| and the dynamic mass is cocked, i. e., held by sear2|. The back plate assembly is thereafter free to be pushed home andrelocked by rotation through 90 when the locking studs 31 have enteredthe slots 38.

It will be observed that the sleeve l I is hollow, and accordingly inthe forward movement can pass over a guide tube 40 which projectsrearwardly from the end cap 2 and serves to guide the striker III. Thistelescoping of the sleeve and the guide tube allows of a very longrecoiling movement in relation to the overall dimensions of the weaponand so allows the recoil forces to be absorbed relatively gradually.

When the striker l0 travels rapidly up the tail tube I of theprojectile, air is compressed in the tail tube with the result thatthere is an immediate force exerted on the projectile before thepropellant cartridge is discharged. If the projectile were simply placedin the loading trough without being restrained in any way it might moveforward under the action of this force and the striker might then fallto discharge the cartridge. To prevent this the projectile is providedwith a collar 4| which is united to the end of the tail tube by means ofa light soldered joint or equivalent connection which will easily breakor shear or pull OK when the propellant cartridge 9 is discharged. Thiscollar 4| engages behind ribs 42 which are made rigid with the cap 2 andthis engagement serves to hold the projectile in position until thecartridge is discharged.

It is desirable that the projectile should be loaded transversely ratherthan axially, since in this way the risk of the loader placing hishandin the path of the striker and so being injured if the weapon isaccidentally fired as minimised. With transverse loading the strikermust have a long enough recoil movement to be clear of the loadingtrough in the cooked position, so means must be provided for locatingthe projectile accurately in position relatively to the striker and theguide tube 40. Registration in a vertical direction is ensured becausethe drum 8 of the projectile rests on the bottom of the loading trough5, but naturally to enable projectiles to be loaded quickly there mustbe a relatively large clearance between the walls of the trough and theprojectiles. The ribs 42 serve the useful additional function of guidingthe tail end of the projectile during the loading and locating the tailtube laterally in exact register with the end of the guide tube 40.

When the cartridge has been discharged and the connections between thecollar 4| and the end of the tail tube 1 is broken the collar 4| fallsout of the loading trough through an opening 43, as also does the rearportion of the fired cartridge.

Figure 4 shows a modified control mechanism. In this case a disconnectorin tension is used and is shown at 44. It has a hooked part 45 whichengages behind a nose on a sear 2|, which is subjected to the action ofa spring 22 and is pivoted on a pin 28'. The disconnector, which has ahump 46 which is engaged by the disc |4 during cocking, is not directlypivoted to the trigger 24 but by a pin I44 to a lever 41 which is itselfconnected by a square pin I45 to the trigger and which also carries apin I46 to which a spring 48 is anchored, the other end of the springbeing anchored to the disconnector 44. It will be observed that whereasin the construction shown in Figure 1 the disconnector and sear are atthe same point along the gun, in the modification shown in Figure 4 theyare at different points so the disconnector does not have to be forkedto embrace the sear. To fire the weapon with this modified triggermechanism the trigger 24 is pulled, the action of the operators fingercausing the trigger to rock clockwise, the link 41 rocking clockwisewith the trigger. As a result the disconnector 44 is pulled bodilytowards the muzzle end of the gun and the hook 45 causes the sear 2| torock anti-clockwise uritil the disc i4 is released. On the returnmovement the hump 46 is forced downwards until the disc I4 has passedover it, so that even if the trigger is released during the return ofthe dynamic mass the hook 45 will not re-engage the sear 2I'prematurely.

The gun shown in Figure is larger than that of Figures 1 to 3 and isintended to be mounted in a tank or other self-propelled vehicle. It isshown in position inside a tank, part of the armour of which is shown at50. The gun as a whole is carried by a mantlet 5I, which is mounted ontrunnions 52 fixed inside the tank. The mantlet includes a support 53 towhich an end cap 54 rigid with the casing 55 of the weapon is bolted.Fixed within the end cap 54 is a guide tube 56 which receives a largeslidin member or bolt 51 from which the striker 58 projects forward. Thesliding member 51 is secured to a skirt-like tube 59 which receives anactuating spring 60, the other end of which bears against a rear end cap6I. The tube 59, striker 58 and sliding member 51 form a large dynamicmass capable of absorbing the greater recoil forces generated upon thedischarge of the larger projectile fired by this gun. At the forward endof the guide tube 56 there is a plate 62 to which a loading trou h 63 isbolted and with which a guide tube 64 for the striker 58 is made rigid.The guide tube 56 passes through an opening 65 in the armour of the tankand protection against the passage of bullets through this opening isgiven by the mantlet 5I The control mechanism is somewhat different inthis gun and is shown in detail in Figure 6. There are two sears 66 and61 which engage the forward end of the sliding member 51 in the cockedposition. Both sears are in a dust-proof casing I13. The nose 13a of adisconnector 13 bears against the tail of the sear 61. This disconnectoris pivotally connected by a pivot pin I19 (which extends across thecasing I13) to an arm I80 which in turn is rigidly connected to atrigger 14 by a pin I8I which extends through the wall of the casing I13and terminates outside the casing in a square end which engages a squarehole in the trigger. The disconnector is subjected to the at one end tothe disconnector and at the other end to the tube 56 at I18. When thelower end of the trigger 14 is pulled back (to the left in Figure 6),the disconnector 13 is pushed forward, i. e., to the right, and its nose13a pushes against the sear 61, causing the latter to rock anticlockwiseto move clear of 51. The scar 61 is connected rigidly to an arm I14 bythe square end of a pin I15. Arm I14 is outside the casing I13 and ispivotally connected to a link 69 by a pin I69. As the arm I14 rocks withthe sear, the

link 69 is pulled and turns a crank wheel to which it is connected by apin I82. A second link 68 is pivoted to the crank wheel by a pin I83 andalso to an arm I16 by a pin I84. This arm I16 is rigidly connected bythe square end of a pin I11 to the sear 66. When the crank wheel 10 isturned by the pull on the link '69 the link 68 is pushed and rocks thearm I16 with the result that the sear 66 also moves clear of 51. The twosears are subjected to the action of springs H and 12, respectively. Thesprings are very diagrammatically shown as mounted in small housings. Apin is provided for the same purpose as the pin 29 in Figure 1. Duringthe recoil movement, the sliding member 51 bears on the disconnector 13so that only when the member 51 has cleared the disconnector is itpossible for the tail of the action of a tension spring I85 which isanchored disconnector once more to engage the tail of the sear 13.

The gun shown in Figures 5 and 6 is too large to be cooked by handinitially. Accordingly a cooking winch 16 may be provided in the tankand when the gun is to be cooked a screwthreaded bar 11 carried on theend of a wire rope 18 attached to the winch is screwed into a threadedsocket 19 formed in the end of the sliding member 51. The whole slidingnicmber and the parts associated with it are then pulled back into thecooked position by turning the handle of the winch.

In the gun shown in Figures 7 to 10 there is a heavy end plate 8I whichcarries a member"82 by which the whole gun may be pivotally secured to abase plate. In this case the dynamic mass is composed of a heavy slidingplate 83, a tube 84 closed by an end cap 85 from which a striker 86projects forwardly and two tubes 81 fixed in the plate 83. These tubes81 slide over fixed tubes 88 which surround fixed rods 89. Two actuatingsprings are provided, each surrounding one of the rods 89 within thecorresponding tube 90 and bearing at its forward end on the closedforward end of the corresponding tube 81.

This gun is of the magazine type and it includes a trough 9I into whichprojectiles 92 are loaded so that they tend to move vertically downwardsin the trough with their axes horizontal. The trough 9I is carried bythe rods 89 which project forwards through the ends of the tubes 81 andenter a support 93 which is also fixed to the base plate by means notshown. The lower most projectile rests on the bottom of the trough 9|and the projectile next above it is held by two pairs of pivotallymounted feed pawls or jaws 94 and 95 and 96 and 91 respectively. Thepawls 94 and 96 are keyed to a shaft 98 and the pawls 95 and 91 arekeyed to a similar parallel shaft 99. These shafts are mounted inbrackets IIO carried by the trough 9|. The pawls 94 and 95 areinterconnected by a linkage comprising a connecting rod I00 and two armsIOI and I02, each connected at one end to the connecting rod I00. Thesearms IN and I02 are respectively fixed to the shafts 98 and 99, so thatwhen the one shaft rocks the other must rock in the opposite direction.There are two such linkages, one at each end of the pair of shafts 98and 99. The shaft 98 carries a cam I03 which lies in the path of afinger I04 pivotally mounted at I05 on an extension I06 of the tube 88.The finger I04 can rock anti-clockwise against a spring I01 but isprevented from moving in a clockwise direction beyond the position shownin Figure 7 by an abutment I08 on the extension I06. When the wholedynamic mass moves forward the finger I04 strikes the rearward end ofthe cam I03 and rocks against the action of the spring I01 so that it iscarried under the cam. Directly it clears the cam it is restored by thespring to the vertical position. On the return movement of the dynamicmass the back of the finger I04 bears on the inclined surface of the camI93 and rocks it and the shaft 98 clockwise as seen in Figure 10. Inconsequence the pawls 94 and 96 are rocked clockwise and the pawls 95and 91 anti-clockwise and the prof ctile which they previously supporteddescends to the bottom of the trough 9|. All these rocked parts arerestored to their initial position by the action of springs I09 directlythe bomb has moved downwards out of the jaws, so that the nextprojectile is caught by and retained in the jaws.

The rearward end of the trough Si is provided with ribs Ill similar tothe ribs 42 shown in Figures 1 to 3.

The trigger mechanism of the gun of Figures '7 to is not shown and maywork on the same principle as those shown in Figures 1, 3, 4 and 6.

I claim:

1. In combination, a projectile and gun, the projectile being providedwith an axial bore open at its rearward end, a propellant cartridgepositioned in the bore in advance of said rearward end, said cartridgeincluding an obturator portion movable along said bore and arranged toform a gas seal therein, the gun including a casing, a heavy dynamicmass including a forwardly extending firing pin, means for driving saidmass toward the forward end of said casing, sear means for holding saidmass against the action of said driving means, trigger means to operatesaid sear means to release position. means to support the projectilewith its propellant cartridge in the path of movement of said firingpin, said firing pln having sufiicient length to extend into theprojectile recess and detonate the propellant cartridge when said massis moved forward, whereby detonation of said cartridge will drive saidobturator portion of the projectile propellant cartridge rearwardly inthe projectile bore and in gas-sealing relation to the bore to therebymove said mass rearwardly with respect to said casing, said mass anddriving means therefor bein sufliciently heavy that the momentum of saidmass will substantially absorb recoil resulting from discharge of theprojectile cartridge.

2. The combination described in claim 1, including means to move thesear means to holding position with respect to the dynamic mass uponrecoil of the latter.

3. The combination described in claim 1 including frangible means on theprojectile to engage the projectile supporting means of the gun.

4. The combination described in claim 1 including a magazine positionedabove the projectile supporting means, and means operated upon rearwardmovement of the dynamic mass to feed projectiles from said magazine tothe projectile supporting means.

5. In a gun for projecting a projectile, which projectile is providedwith an axial bore open at its rearward end with a propellant cartridgeincluding a rearwardly movable obturating portion positioned in the borein advance of said rearward end of the projectile, a casing, a heavydynamic mass including a forwardly extending firing pin element movabletherewith, said mass being reciprocable in said casing, means fordriving said mass toward the forward end of said casing, sear means forholding said mass against the action of said driving means, triggermeans to operate said sear means to release position, projectilesupporting means beyond the forward end of asid casing adapted to holdthe projectile substantially stationary during the forward travel ofsaid mass and until the propellant cartridge is discharged, said firingpin element having sufficient length forwardly of said mass that whensaid mass is moved forwardly the forward end of said element will extendpast the forward end of said casing and into the projectile recess so asto engage the projectile propellant cartridge, whereby discharge of thepropellant cartridge will result in creation of explosive gases adaptedto be primarily effective in the projectile recess so as to drive theobturating portion of the cartridge against said firing pin element,said mass and the driving means therefor being sufficiently heavy thatthe momentum of said mass will substantially absorb the recoil resultingfrom discharge of the projectile cartridge.

6. The combination described in claim 5, including means to move thesear means to holding position with respect to the dynamic mass uponrecoil of the latter.

7. A gun of the character described in claim 5 including a magazinepositioned above the projectile supporting means, and means operatedupon rearward movement of the dynamic mass to feed projectiles from saidmagazine to the projectile supporting means.

8. The combination described in claim 1, including means to move saiddynamic mass to a position for holding engagement by said sear means andindependently of recoil action.

9. The combination described in claim 5, including means to move saiddynamic mass to a position for holding engagement by said sear means andindependently of recoil action.

10. The combination described in claim 1, including a tube elementcarried by said casing and engaged by said dynamic mass when the latteris in forward position. said tube element being movable rearwardly ofthe casing to move the dynamic mass into position to be held by saidsear means.

11. The combination described in claim 5, including a tube elementcarried by said casing and engaged by said dynamic mass when the latteris in forward position, said tube element being movable rearwardly ofthe casing to move the dynamic mass into position to be held by saidsear means.

LATHAM VALENTINE STEWART BLACKER.

REFERENCES CITED,

The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,326,763 Meinersmann Dec. 30,1919 1,347,125 Schneider July 20, 1920 1,359,425 Piersantelli Nov. 16,1920 1,440,333 Braunger Dec. 26, 1922 2,363,675 Johnson Nov. 28, 1944FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 106,141 Great Britain May 14, 1917208,565 Switzerland May 1, 1940 308,475 Germany Sept. 21, 1920 405,159Great Britain Feb. 1, 1934 412,580 Great Britain June 28, 1934

